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Great first touch receiving that long ball on the run! Superb goal.

Well done, Shooky!

May Richmond Laryea have a speedy recovery.

MIC 1-2 AKR Stefan Dobrijevic with the brace. Dobrijevic should get more consideration for starting #9.

Spartans looked about the same quality as the average Big East opponent. Maybe not even that good. Zips played well as a unit the first 15 minutes, creating space and asking questions of the MSU defense. Then they inexplicably seemed to lose focus after that. Toward the end, Spartans owned the match. Zips ran out of offensive ideas in the 2nd half, becoming plodding and predictable. Very tough to imagine a positive trajectory for 2024. Roberto Ydrach CB #8 continued to impress, but he made a few miscues. Maximus Barboto MF #21 provided a spark in very limited playing time in the 2nd half. Both Zips outside backs played pretty well, Henry and Kamdem.

4-2-3-1 Borneo #12 and Bartels #15 are as good as advertised in offensive MF. The pleasant surprise is Ydrach #8 at CB. This enables Buechte to play defensive MF instead of CB. Malik Henry was very sharp today at his usual RB. His goal was a thing of beauty.

Agreed. Given the present state of the program, this Spring schedule is more important than it is in most years. Zips need some collective success on which to build. Zips got work to do!

Olivia Pilato exhibits a fine upbringing!

I look forward to beating Bowling Green.

Forgive me for not addressing the central point. That 2022 Pitt NCAAT match was both very cold AND miserable.

Why did Leo Chappel leave Zips MSOC right before 2018 postseason? Seems curious timing for a career change. That question has always nagged at me.

Last week we learned of the Zips’ upcoming participation in The College Spring League. Fantastic! We are really looking forward to these matches against quality competition. This particular Spring indicates fresh lifeblood arriving to a program in desperate need of a transfusion. Yes. Desperate. I could not help but notice how the advertisement for The College Spring League boasted four participants in the previous NCAA MSOC Tournament, Akron not among those. And like rubbing alcohol applied to a flesh wound, the pain was searing and immediate, but ultimately worth bearing. Zips missed the NCAA Tournament. I can talk about it now. It is so unconscionable that one must reference the records to believe it: A handful of departing Akron seniors (because of the COVID-19 exemption) played 5 years of eligibility without ever winning an NCAA Tournament match. Even though this sad fact is mercifully in the past, out of respect for the players’ effort, I will not name the names. We know who they are. How many times in program history have the Zips missed the Tournament? Not bloody often! Somebody can research that if they like. Suffice it to say that Akron has qualified for the Tourney the great majority of the time, especially in recent decades. It is rarer still to find a player who exhausted all 4 years of their eligibility without an NCAA Tourney victory. It has happened more often than I would have guessed before consulting the books. The last class to play 4 years sans NCAA win was in the early 2000s under Ken Lolla. It is extraordinary that any player be granted 5 years of eligibility. Injuries and medical redshirt seasons usually accompany such scenarios. To think that a few players were around that long without even one NCAA post- season success is just astounding. The easy rationale would be to blame the afore-referenced players. They were not tough enough; they were of insufficient quality. “Good riddance! Bring in the new guys!” Surely participants ultimately rule any athletic contest. Having the best player almost always prevails over having the best coach. Sports is the essential reality drama. But in this instance, to place 100% of the fault on the players would be lazy if not disingenuous. I frankly trust that our coaching staff is severely scrutinizing themselves and each other. THEY are culpable. This result is not OK. This will not stand. THEY must hold themselves accountable. THEY must hold each other accountable. It is (past) time to rigorously re-evaluate previously successful methods and techniques. Change your process, coach. Test the old ways; keep only what proves out as viable. Scrap the rest. Assimilate new ideas and perspectives. Either you make changes or changes will be made for you. In the new millennium, Akron Zips MSOC have risen from the morass of anonymity, rerouting the apathy and mediocrity plaguing most MSOC programs. But we can easily return to that quagmire. We are much closer to it than most suspect.

Check out this assist @ 0:40.

Darlington Nagbe is simply the best! Everyone says so.

Last time Zips won an NCAA Tournament match, Micaletto was playing for Akron.

Absolutely ❤️ DarNag! He is my favorite professional athlete. Exemplary!

I have watched Notre Dame since we played them. Yes, they are better now than they were earlier this year. They seem to have found their scoring punch. I hope Kentucky pummels them! Death to ACC (metaphorically speaking)!

Indeed it will! Don’t sleep on Wildcats; they are a dangerous side right now.

Uh. No?

Preach It, Brother!!!! Welcome to the Team!

Any reader on this forum must read the comprehensive and historical review of NCAA MSOC Tournament selection authored by BigSoccer.com icon Sandon Mibut. Sandon Mibut's posts are toward the end of the thread, which was started by Gaucho Dan. Priceless! Enjoy! https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/ncaa-tournament-selection.2128408/

Humans who vote in polls may (or may not) evaluate the quality of individual wins or losses. Algorithms cannot make that sort of evaluation unless the formula is constructed to do. so. I do not believe RPI can distinguish between a 6-0 drubbing At Notre Dame and a 2-1 loss at Virginia. RPI does give weight to Away matches vs. Home matches. Otherwise, a loss is a loss, and an opponent's accumulated RPI is plugged into the algorithm. Nothing else is considered. Only humans can think outside the formula. RPI is far, far away from perfect. One might even describe RPI as an archaic, clumsy and lazy method of evaluation. Likewise, SOS is just mathematics; it is not voodoo. If I possessed the actual algorithm (and understood it) I would undoubtedly share it with you.

I agree with the Kentucky comments. Nobody wants to play Wildcats right now. I dislike ACC soccer elitism as much as anyone. But Pitt deserve to be in, for reasons discussed above.

I like that. Have you ever considered becoming an AD?

Pitt deserves to be in the tournament; Zips clearly do not.